2008 schedule announced

Three in So. Nevada, three in Mexico
SCORE International Announces Six-Race Schedule for 2008 SCORE Desert Series

Schedule includes 40th anniversary celebration of increasingly-popular Tecate SCORE Baja 500

LOS ANGELES--Completing its 34th year as the World's foremost desert racing sanctioning body, SCORE International officially announced today its six-race schedule for the 2008 SCORE Desert Series.

Keeping the same venues and all but one of the same race weekends for its five open desert races and one stadium-style short-course event as the past three years, the 2008 SCORE Desert Series will again feature three races in Southern Nevada and three in Mexico.

"We have incredible marketing partners on both sides of the border, the world's greatest desert racers and the world's toughest race courses, so we will make only minor changes for the 2008 SCORE season," said Sal Fish, CEO/President of SCORE, which is based in Los Angeles. "Our six-race schedule in both the U.S. and Mexico offers tremendous variety for the racers, sponsors, media and fans. We will have some major news at our season-ending SCORE Awards Night in December regarding our plans to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Tecate SCORE Baja 500"

"With necessary restrictions in place for spectators in the U.S. still our attendance continues to rise, but in Mexico, it's absolutely unbelievable. Our crowds for the last six races in Baja California have averaged over 300,000, and SCORE racers are as popular in Baja California as any racing figures in the world. From a participant perspective, there have never been more desert racers and SCORE entries continue to rise at a phenomenal rate of over 25 percent for the last three years."

The SCORE Desert Series, which features 28 Pro and six Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycle and ATVs, will kick off Jan. 24-27 with the popular 14th Annual SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge in the Southern Nevada resort city of Laughlin on the banks of the Colorado River. The season will conclude Nov. 19-22 with the 41st Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, the granddaddy of all desert racing.

"The SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge is the most unique and increasingly popular desert race in the U.S. and the legendary Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 is the best known desert race in the world," added Fish, who has been at the head of SCORE since 1974. "These two races provide wonderful ways to start and finish our SCORE racing season."

SCORE also announced the SCORE Las Vegas Terrible's Cup IV, will be held July 17-19 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. With final negotiations underway, SCORE anticipates the final announcement regarding the 2008 special short-course point's race for select classes on the Dirt Track at LVMS to be made in late October.

The 2008 SCORE Desert Series will again start with the most unique and the shortest race of the season and finish with the oldest and most recognized desert race in the world. After starting the season in Laughlin, 90 miles south of Las Vegas, it will conclude with the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, which will be is always a unique and memorable special race.

Since its debut in 1995, the SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge has helped establish Laughlin as a viable host for special events. Thousands of spectators join over 200 racers and their crews in converging on the city each year to watch the best of the best desert racers compete in a unique-format, two-day race that includes a temporary stadium surrounding the start/finish line area and the main pits.

A total of 18 different Pro and two Sportsman classes for cars and trucks are split into seven groups in Laughlin, each running as part of one of seven races of three to six laps each over the much-abbreviated course each day. The SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge also includes a pre-race activity that is not part of any other race on the schedule--the $25,000 Laughlin Leap. The Laughlin Leap is held under the lights on Thursday evening of race week at the Laughlin Events Park.

Round 2 and 3 of the 2008 SCORE Desert Series will both be held in Mexico. The 22nd Tecate SCORE Baja 250 is set for March 14-15, followed by the 40th anniversary of the vastly popular Tecate SCORE Baja 500, May 30-June 1, in Ensenada, Baja California.

SCORE will announce the exact sites in Baja California for both the Tecate SCORE Baja 250 and the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 when final negotiations are complete with the state and local governments involved.

The series returns to Southern Nevada for Round 4 and Round 5. Round 4 will be the special SCORE Las Vegas Terrible's Cup IV short-course event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Round 5 will be the 13th Annual SCORE Terrible's Primm 300 which will be held Sept. 5-6 in Primm, Nev., 45 miles south of Las Vegas.

SCORE International, founded in 1973 by the late Mickey Thompson and headed by Sal Fish since 1974, continues today as the premier sanctioning body in the sport of desert racing. SCORE races feature 18 Pro and three Sportsman classes for cars and trucks in the U.S. with 10 additional Pro and three more Sportsman classes for motorcycles and ATVs competing in the races in Mexico. SCORE races in the U.S. average 200 entries while the average in Mexico, with motorcycle and ATV classes running as well as the cars and trucks is 350.

Current SCORE official annual sponsors are: BFGoodrich Tires-official tire, Sunoco Race Fuels/Bryant Petroleum-official fuel supplier, Bilstein-official shock, Volkswagen-official vehicle, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance-official Mexican auto insurance, American Racing ATX Series-official wheel, Slime-official tire sealant, Red Bull--official energy drink and Bosch Power Tools-official power tool. Associate sponsors are: Tecate Beer, Coca-Cola of Mexico, Las Vegas Events, Terrible Herbst Inc., Blue C Enthusiast Advertising, Kartek Off-Road, Fram, Autolite, Prestone, Bendix, American Suzuki, NAPA Chassis, SignPros, P.C.I. Race Radios, McKenzie's Performance Products and Advanced Color Graphics.

The SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge is sponsored by the Laughlin Tourism Committee, the Laughlin Visitors Bureau, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and Las Vegas Events.

The SCORE Terrible's Primm 300 is sponsored by Terrible Herbst Inc., Las Vegas Events and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

Additional associate sponsors for the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 are Cotuco de Ensenada, Fideicomiso Publio para la Promocion Turistica de Ensenada, the government of Baja California Sur, the State Tourism Department of Baja California Sur and the city tourism fund of Loreto.

For more information, contact SCORE at its Los Angeles headquarters 818.225.8402 or visit the official website of the 2008 SCORE Desert Series at www.score-international.com.

-credit: score